Culbokie Woods

Much of the wonderful woodland on the Black Isle is in the care of Forestry Commission Scotland. At Culbokie Loch you may see herons fishing and a variety of ducks, and within the forest woodland birds such as siskins, goldcrests and tits.

Carn Mor at Culbokie, is probably the best surviving example of an Iron Age Dun (Gaelic for castle, pronounced 'Doon') on the Black Isle. About 2000 years old, it lies on the end of a low ridge surrounded by forestry and the almost circular stone wall measures 30 metres in diameter overall. Inside the wall on the north side there appears to be the remains of a small secondary enclosure and near to the centre is an ancient Yew. The outer defences consist of a ditch, and a rampart, least evident where the land slopes away naturally.

The Dun would probably been have the fairly secure home of a local chief and his extended family, also providing shelter and security for domestic animals from rustlers and wild animals. The land would have been farmed and barley grown.

The car park is about half a km up the Glascairn Road (turn off the B9163 at the Culbokie Shop/PO).

Hidden Black Isle offers you the chance to tailor-make your own trail around the Black Isle based on your direction of travel and the time you have available. Please note this trail is curated by Verity Walker as part of the Kirkmichael Trust's 2016/7 partnership project with the Black Isle Tourism Team. All information provided is accurate as far as we know. Additions and corrections welcome. You can contact Verity here.